DU authorities suspended counting for the DUSU elections due to malfunctioning of at least six ‘outdated’ first-generation EVMs.
New Delhi: Electronic voting machines (EVMs), the centre of controversy in several state elections, also became a point of conflict Thursday in the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) polls.
This is possibly the first time that EVMs used in student body elections were at the centre of a “fixing” debate.
In an unprecedented turn of events Thursday, the Delhi University authorities suspended counting for the DUSU elections after it turned chaotic and was halted several times due to malfunctioning of at least six ‘outdated’ first-generation EVMs.
Admitting to a ‘technical error’, DU authorities still decided to restart counting only 3 hours later.
An understanding, according to sources, was reached between the contestants that in case the margin is 426 votes or less between the top two candidates for the post of secretary, there will be a repoll. In case the margin is over 426, the results won’t be impacted and the two faulty EVMs won’t be accounted for in the final tally.
Also read: Here’s what the last 11 DUSU presidents are doing now
Malfunctioning EVMs
Students from the contesting National Students Union of India (NSUI), the Congress students’ union wing, and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the BJP students’ union wing, earlier launched an agitation outside the counting venue in North Delhi after the malfunction.
The NSUI demanded that counting should be suspended for the day and the authorities should give another day for the same even as ABVP members asked for counting to resume.
“NSUI was winning DUSU president and secretary after 6 rounds. Then 6 EVMs started malfunctioning and EC (Election Commission) wanted to set those aside. How is it that machines which were working till yesterday during polling are no longer working during counting? Clearly some sabotage to help ABVP,” said NSUI in-charge and AICC joint secretary Ruchi Gupta.
“We want the counting to restart again. If tomorrow ABVP wins NSUI will say that overnight we tampered with the EVM machines and we do not want to go through that hassle,” said ABVP Delhi leader Bharat Khatana.
The election-day clash comes after the Congress wing submitted a memorandum to the EC for using the latest VVPAT machines for the elections. However, the EC didn’t accept the memorandum.
DU elections
Till the time early trends were announced, NSUI and ABVP were both leading in two posts. NSUI was leading for the post of president and secretary while ABVP was leading for the post of vice-president and joint secretary. The Aam Aadmi Party’s student wing Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS) was nowhere in the picture.
DUSU elections have high stakes for the national political parties and are closely watched from all quarters across the country. Many senior BJP leaders like Arun Jaitley, Prakash Javadekar, among others, started their careers as DU student leaders.